ML22054A140
| ML22054A140 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | 99902088 |
| Issue date: | 03/09/2022 |
| From: | Rivera R NRC/NRR/DANU/UARL |
| To: | Abilene Christian University (ACU) |
| Rivera R; 301-415-7190 | |
| Shared Package | |
| ML22054A214 | List: |
| References | |
| CAC A11010, EPID L-2020-NFN-0000 | |
| Download: ML22054A140 (5) | |
Text
ABILENE CHRISTIAN UNIVERSITY - NUCLEAR ENERGY EXPERIMENTAL TESTING (NEXT) LABORATORY MOLTEN SALT RESEARCH REACTOR PRELIMINARY SAFETY ANALYSIS REPORT PRE-SUBMITTAL AUDIT PLAN (CAC/EPID NO. A11010/99902088/L-2020-NFN-0000)
APPLICANT INFORMATION Applicant:
Abilene Christian University (ACU)
Applicant Address:
NEXT Lab, Abilene Christian University, ACU Box 28208 Abilene, TX 79699-8208 Plant Name(s) and Unit(s):
ACU NEXT Lab Molten Salt Research Reactor Project No(s):
99902088
Background:
Abilene Christian University (ACU) began pre-application discussions with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) staff on their Molten Salt Research Reactor (MSRR) in approximately November 2019. Since then, ACU has actively engaged with the NRC staff, and submitted a regulatory engagement plan (REP) dated July 24, 2020 (Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS) Accession No. ML20241A071), a regulatory interpretation request (ADAMS Accession No. ML20366A053), and a topical report on quality assurance to be applied to the MSRR (ADAMS Accession No. ML21230A307). As discussed in its REP and in public meetings, ACU plans to submit an application for a construction permit (CP), including a preliminary safety analysis report (PSAR), for the MSRR in accordance with Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR) Part 50, Domestic licensing of production and utilization facilities. According to its REP, ACU intends to prepare this PSAR in accordance with the guidance in NUREG-1537, Part 1, Guidelines for Preparing and Reviewing Applications for the Licensing of Non-Power Reactors, Format and Content (ADAMS Accession No. ML042430055).
Purpose:
ACU requested this audit to provide the NRC staff an opportunity to assess the readiness of the draft PSAR before ACU formally submits it for the NRC staffs review. The audit will allow the NRC staff to (1) identify any required information that is missing from the application, (2) identify technical or regulatory issues that may complicate the acceptance or technical reviews of the application, and (3) become familiar with the content of the application, particularly in areas where ACU plans to propose new concepts or novel design features. The NRC staff will summarize its observations related to items (1) and (2) in an audit report to be provided to ACU, as discussed below.
Regulatory Audit Basis:
The bases for the audit are the regulations in 10 CFR Part 50, primarily,Sections 50.34(a),
Preliminary safety analysis report, and 50.35, Issuance of construction permits.
Regulatory Audit Scope The NRC staff will use parts of NRCs Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation (NRR) Office Instruction LIC-116, Pre-application Readiness Assessment (ADAMS Accession No. ML20104B698), as guidance for conducting this audit. This audit will cover chapters of the PSAR, and other technical information, provided by ACU on its online reference portal (i.e.,
Certrec).
Information and Other Material Necessary for the Regulatory Audit Documents associated with the preliminary safety assessment report (PSAR) for ACUs MSRR.
These documents will include but may not be limited to, the following (in order established by ACU):
Overall Introduction to the MSRR Design
PSAR Chapter 2 - Site Characteristics
PSAR Chapter 3 - Design of Structures, Systems, and Components
PSAR Chapter 4 - Molten Salt Reactor Description
PSAR Chapter 13 - Accident Analysis
PSAR Chapter 6 - Engineered Safety Features
PSAR Chapter 5 - Molten Salt Reactor Cooling Systems Team Members Christopher Van Wert Sr. Reactor Systems Engineer, Technical Lead Kenneth See Sr. Hydrologist David Heeszel Geophysicist (Seismologist)
Richard Rivera Project Manager, responsible for audit logistics Ed Helvenston Project Manager Additional audit team members may be added as needed.
Logistics Entrance Meeting March 14, 2022 Exit Meeting TBD Audit meetings take place in a virtual format, using Microsoft Teams, or via other, similar platform. Audit meetings will be scheduled on an as needed basis after the entrance meeting and once the NRC staff has had the opportunity to review any documents placed in the online reference portal. The audit will begin March 14, 2022, and continue as necessary, with activities occurring intermittently during the audit period.
To improve the efficiency of the audit, ACU and NRC staff discussed the use of the online reference portal (i.e., Certrec), established by ACU, that would allow NRC staff limited read-only access to the PSAR chapters and other technical information placed in the portal by ACU. Use of the online reference portal is acceptable provided that ACU establishes measures to limit access to specific NRC staff (e.g., based on NRC e-mail addresses or the use of passwords which will only be assigned to NRC staff directly involved in the audit on a need-to-know basis),
and to make the documents view-only (i.e., prevent NRC staff from saving, copying, downloading, or printing any documents). The conditions associated with the online reference portal must be maintained throughout the audit process. The NRC staff who should initially be granted access to the portal are those listed in the Audit Team section above. As needed, the NRC audit logistics lead may provide ACU with the names of additional NRC staff who are added to the audit team and should subsequently be granted access.
Special Requests The NRC staff requests that ACU ensure that their technical staff are available to answer questions during the audit.
Deliverables At the completion of the audit, the audit team will issue an audit summary within 90 days after the exit meeting but will strive for a shorter duration. The audit summary will be declared and entered as an official agency record in ADAMS and be made available for public viewing through the Publicly Available Records component of ADAMS.
References Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations.
NUREG-1537, Part 1, Guidelines for Preparing and Reviewing Applications for the Licensing of Non-Power Reactors, Format and Content, February 1996 (ML042430055)
Oak Ridge National Laboratory Report, "Proposed Guidance for Preparing and Reviewing a Molten Salt Non-Power Reactor Application," July 2020 (ML20219A771)
NRR Office Instruction LIC-116, Pre-application Readiness Assessment, July 2020 (ML20104B698)
Please contact Richard Rivera (NRC) at 301-415-7190 or by email at richard.rivera@nrc.gov about any issues related to the conduct of the audit.
Date: March 9, 2022 Richard Rivera, Project Manager Advanced Reactor Licensing Branch Division of Advanced Reactors and Non-Power Production and Utilization Facilities Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation Signed by Rivera, Richard on 03/09/22
SUBJECT:
ABILENE CHRISTIAN UNIVERSITY - NUCLEAR ENERGY EXPERIMENTAL TESTING (NEXT) LABORATORY MOLTEN SALT RESEARCH REACTOR PRELIMINARY SAFETY ANALYSIS REPORT PRE-SUBMITTAL AUDIT PLAN (CAC/EPID NO. A11010/99902088/L-2020-NFN-0000) DATED: March 9, 2022 DISTRIBUTION:
E-MAIL PUBLIC UARL R/F RidsNrrDanu Resource RidsNrrDanuUarl Resource RidsNrrDanuUart Resource RidsNrrDanuUnpl Resource RidsOgcMailCenter Resource RidsACRS_MailCTR Resource ADAMS Accession Number: Package ML22054A214; Audit ML22054A140; Encl. ML22054A186 OFFICE NRR/DANU/UARL:PM NRR/DANU/UNPL:PM NRR/DANU/UTB1:RSE NAME RRivera EHelvenston CVanWert DATE 02/23/2022 02/23/2022 03/03/2022 OFFICE NRR/DANU/UART:BC NRR/DANU/UARL:BC NRR/DANU/UARL:PM NAME MHayes WKennedy RRivera DATE 03/07/2022 03/08/2022 03/09/2022 OFFICIAL RECORD COPY